Why are the tops of some school buses painted a color other than yellow?

Back in 1992, The New York Times reported on a study in North Carolina that found that school buses with white tops were roughly 10 degrees cooler inside on summer days than those with yellow tops. During the hottest hours, the contrast could rise to 17 degrees.



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Unlike red, yellow is also more easily noticed in a dark environment. This is one of the major reasons school bus yellow was chosen. The black lettering on yellow is the easiest color combination for drivers to see in the darkness of early morning when students are being picked up for school.

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Ten years ago, the Transport for London introduced a programme for the installation of white panels atop the capital's trademark red buses in the framework of further climate-adaptation plans. More specifically, white panels reflect the rays of the summer sun, thus keeping the vehicles cooler.

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In 1907 one company, the powers that be at London General Omnibus Company had a genius idea. They decided to paint the entire fleet red, making their buses stand out from their rivals, and place numbers on the front of the bus to tell people the route it would be taking.

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School bus yellow is a color that was specifically formulated for use on school buses in North America in 1939. Originally officially named National School Bus Chrome, the color is now officially known in Canada and the U.S. as National School Bus Glossy Yellow.

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A pilot program in North Carolina in the early 1990s tested the theory that a school bus with a white roof would make for a cooler experience for the passengers. The results were profound. The program found white-topped buses had internal temperatures an average of 10 degrees cooler than yellow topped buses.

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Ten years ago, the Transport for London introduced a programme for the installation of white panels atop the capital's trademark red buses in the framework of further climate-adaptation plans. More specifically, white panels reflect the rays of the summer sun, thus keeping the vehicles cooler.

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Israel is the only country in the developed world where children go to school six days a week.

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The bus company is handed over to Milsted Langdon LLP, a statement by the accountants said. A loss of revenue, rising fuel prices and the general rise in inflation were all been blamed as factors for the decision.

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Buses (and large trucks) are designed to carry a lot of weight on their axles, which effectively means that they need to have very stiff springs in their suspension. This makes for a very bouncy, harsh, uncomfortable ride, which can be fatiguing for a driver who has to deal with it all day long.

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Bus companies and paint companies deliberated to create one school bus model that could be used for all districts, and a crucial part of that process was picking a universal color. They, of course, picked yellow – a specific shade of yellow, in fact, which you'll see on all school buses to this day.

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Even when you are looking ahead, you can see yellow in your peripheral vision. Scientists say that lateral peripheral vision for detecting the color yellow is 1.24 greater than that of the color red. So, yellow school buses are not for aesthetics, but mostly for safety and to make sure we can see them.

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The yellow-orange color was selected because black lettering on it was most legible in semi-darkness, and because it was conspicuous at a distance and unusual enough to become associated with school buses and groups of children en route.

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As a larger motor bus service operated, the London Motor Omnibus Company chose to use the name 'Vanguard' in 1905. In that same year, the company decided to paint the London buses red to help them stand out from their rivals.

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